A Proper Exegesis Of Acts 22:16

Acts 22:16, “And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”

This is an obscure passage of Scripture which is often deliberately misinterpreted by false teachers to support their heresy. Some people misuse this text to teach that you must be water baptized to be saved. Others use this text in a foolish attempt to prove that you cannot be saved without calling (praying) to the Lord. I say “deliberately” because the only way you can use this lone passage of Scripture to teach baptismal regeneration, or requiring someone to “call” (pray) to the Lord to be saved, is to ignore the entirety of the inspired Word of God. A good rule to follow when interpreting the Holy Bible is to never use an obscure passage to contradict a clear one.

Acts 22:16 Does Not Teach Prayer For Salvation

Someone may insist that Acts 22:16 is biblical proof that one must call (pray) to be saved, but by simply reading the surrounding text we see that Saul (later to become the Apostle Paul) was already saved. Acts 22:13, “Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him.” Ananias called Saul, “Brother” (cf. Acts 9:17). Clearly, Saul was already a born-again believer.

Saul was saved in Acts 9:1-6 when he believed on Christ. Paul wrote years later in Galatians 1:11-12, “But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Saul was taught the Gospel directly from Jesus, not from Ananias. So, again we see that Acts 22:16 cannot be talking about Saul getting saved, because he was already saved. Paul recounts his salvation experience to King Agrippa in Acts 26:12-18, but he never mentions Ananias. Paul was saved while receiving the Gospel from Christ Himself.

So, Verse 16 cannot be used as biblical evidence that a lost person must “call” upon the Lord to be saved. Again and again throughout the Bible we are taught that simple faith in Christ brings eternal life. Acts 10:43, “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.” You don't have to call, ask or pray to be saved. John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.”

Acts 22:16 Does Not Teach Baptism For Salvation

Regarding Acts 22:16 and the heresy of Baptismal Regeneration, here is some helpful exegesis from Dr. John R. Rice (1895-1980)...

In Acts 22:16, “Wash away thy sins,” is certainly figurative language. So about baptism in  Romans 6:4 and 5: “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:” In baptism we are “planted  . . . in the likeness of his death,” and we are “raised in the likeness of his resurrection.”

And in 1 Peter 3:20 and 21 we are told, “Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:” Baptism is a “like figure” of the way we are saved, “by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” Baptism is a picture of the resurrection and so a figure or a likeness of the way we are saved by the resurrection of Christ, in whim we have trusted. 

The Bible makes it clear that “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Tit. 3:5). And even there in Peter we are plainly told that it was not the putting away of the filth of the fleshly nature in Baptism, but it was “the answer of a good conscience toward God,” a conscience already forgiven and purged, before baptism.

SOURCE: Dr. John R. Rice, “Acts: Filled With The Spirit,” p. 475; © 1963, Sword Of The Lord Publishers

In his helpful 'The Strand Study Bible,' Pastor Strand offers this commentary for Acts 22:16...

This word (calling) is the Greek (epikalesamenos). Epikalesamenos is an aorist participle and means, "having called," not "calling." This word is found only here and in 1 Corinthians 6:11, where it is used in exactly the same sense of "washing away sins...in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ" —not washing away sins by baptism.

Those sinners who have placed their faith (believing) in Jesus Christ have had their sins washed away; not by praying a “sinner's prayer” or asking God to be saved. God is already offering eternal life as a “free gift” (Romans 5:15-18) to whosoever will simply receive it by faith (Galatians 3:26). Just take God at His Word as recorded in the Holy Bible, receiving Christ's sacrifice on the cross as full payment for your sins, believing that He raised up from the dead the third day. 1st Thessalonians 4:14, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.”

Water baptism is an outward snapshot of what has already happened inwardly. Salvation comes to those who BELIEVE on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. John 1:12-13, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” Only by wresting obscure passages of Scripture can anyone errantly teach that prayer is required for salvation. Those in the New IFB who teach that a lost sinner cannot be saved unless they call, ask or pray are preaching blatant heresy. John 6:47, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life."

Also, here is some invaluable exegesis from Pastor Max D. Younce (1935-2023) concerning the heresy of Baptismal Regeneration and Acts 22:16...

“And now why tarriest thou? Arise and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”

If a person were to open their Bible and read this one Verse, one could only conclude that baptism was essential for salvation. Should a person desire to prove that the Bible says "There is no God," one could locate such a statement; BUT, should one desire the truth of what God has said, the whole Verse or context should be read. In this case, Psalm 53:1 reveals something to the contrary of just reading one line from the Verse.

“The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.”

How important it is to examine the context, which will always reveal the truth of a subject to the person who will be honest with himself.

The subject matter in question, of which Verse 16 is a part, begins back in Acts 21:15 where Paul goes to Jerusalem. It is here in the Temple that the people apprehended Paul ...

“And all the city was moved, and the people ran together: and they took Paul, and drew him out of the temple: and forthwith the doors were shut.” (Acts 21:30)

Paul was not in the inner sanctuary (ho naos), but only in the outer court (to hieron). They were beating Paul when he was saved by the chief captain and soldiers (21:32). As they were leading him to the barracks of the Roman soldiers (“castle” 21:37), Paul asked the chief captain for permission to speak to the people (21:39, 40). His testimony is recorded in Chapter 22:1-21 (The same account is recorded by Dr. Luke in Chapter 9, with more details.)

Prior to Ananias' instructing Paul to be baptized, we find that Paul was already saved. As Paul was approaching Damascus, the Lord intervened and challenged Paul with these words...

“Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me ... I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest ... And I (Paul) said, what shall I do, Lord?”

Paul's salvation is evidenced by his acknowledgement of Christ as his Lord, or Saviour (22:7,8,10). It should also be noticed that Ananias called Saul a BROTHER in 22:13.

(Ananias) “Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, BROTHER Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him.”

Only the saved are spiritual brothers and sisters in Christ, and such was Saul. Since Paul was already saved and addressed as a brother in Christ by Ananias, what did Ananias mean by telling Paul to be "baptized and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord" (Verse 16)? One must remember there is a judicial justification and a practical justification of sin. When Paul was saved, he received remission for all his sins, judicially, i.e., the cross bore the eternal payment for Paul's sins.

“Being justified (declared absolutely righteous) freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation (payment) through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.” (Romans 3:24, 25)

Ananias was instructing Saul as to how to deal with his past sins practically and publicly. Every Jew and Gentile knew of Paul's commitment and reputation concerning his persecution of Christians.

“And Saul yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord...” (Acts 9:1)

“...I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee (Christ): and when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him.” (Acts 22:19, 20)

Now that Paul is a Christian, his public profession of Christ is of the utmost importance. His baptism would be a public testimony of his faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. With his baptism, he was now publicly identifying himself with those Christians he once persecuted. The sins Paul was going to wash away were his acts of persecution against Christians, prior to being saved. Judicially, Paul's sins were judged on Calvary, now they would be “washed away” PUBLICLY in the eyes of the Christians who knew of his conversion (made public by his baptism). You can rest assured, Paul gave his testimony at his baptism by calling on the name of the Lord. The sins of Paul's persecutions against Christians would never be repeated again! His PUBLIC profession, from time on, “washed away” any doubt of those sins ever being repeated.

God had taken a murderer and made him a missionary, turned a persecutor into a preacher, and used him to write 14 of the 27 Books of the New Testament. Yes, judicially, Paul's sins were accounted “paid in full” at the cross; PUBLICLY, they were “washed away” as there remained no doubt in people's minds as to where he stood, remaining faithful to his Lord, until his death. 

SOURCE: Dr. Max D. Younce, A Biblical Examination Of Baptism, p. 

Dear reader, I have provided commentary from three trustworthy Bible scholars (John R. Rice, Max D. Younce and Brad Strand). In Acts 22:16, Paul is recounting when Ananias encouraged him to get baptized, since his sins had already been washed away by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you for reading my ministry blog.